This invention relates in general to automotive vehicles and, more particularly, to an electrically-powered drive axle for an automotive vehicle.
The typical automobile derives all the power required to propel it from an internal combustion engine which is coupled to left and right drive wheels through a transmission and differential. Indeed, the differential divides the torque produced by the engine evenly between the drive wheels to which it is coupled. Recently several automotive manufacturers have demonstrated an interest in automobiles that in one way or another utilize electric motors to propel the vehicles. But these vehicles still rely on differentials of conventional construction to divide torque between the left and right drive wheels and to accommodate variations in speed between the drive wheels, such as when the vehicle negotiates a turn.
However, an equal division of torque between the drive wheels on each side of a differential is not always desirable. For example, if the traction available to one of the drive wheels is diminished, most of the torque should flow to the other drive wheel. Also in turns, handling improves if most of the torque flows to the drive wheel on the outside of the turn.